


To Cross the Sea of Souls

by ETWriter



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), Persona 5
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Drama, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, M/M, Mild Language, Persona 5 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Set during Persona 5
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27622928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETWriter/pseuds/ETWriter
Summary: When Sora fades from the islands, he wakes up in Mementos without any memories. That's not important, though, because there are people here who need his help.Joining the Phantom Thieves is pretty cool, too.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira & Phantom Thieves of Hearts
Comments: 22
Kudos: 55





	1. Saving the Phantom Thieves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering, the story starts after May 18th.

_If there ever comes a day where we can’t be together, keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever._

The sun’s so bright on the horizon, the colours of the sunset so beautifully cross the sky. He hears the party behind them still, feels the sea breeze ruffle his hair and the warmth of her hand under his, their fingers linked ever so tightly. Just one tear falls down her face, but she forces a smile. His heart would break again if it could; he’d never wanted to make her cry.

His vision blurs, the world around them slowly darkens, leaving her face as the very last thing until she, too, fades away, and then there is darkness, so deep and so black it suffocates. He tries to scream but nothing comes out, he tries to cover his ears but the nothing is too deafening, he closes his eyes but nothing changes.

Until it does.

There’s a sparkle in the distance. He stares, then sees another. He turns, and there’s one more. The more he turns, the more lights appear, until he’s surrounded by a sea of stars. He reaches out a hand to touch the closest. It’s warm and peaceful, with an undercurrent of sadness – emotions he’d forgotten in the dark, once familiar but now so raw he flinches away. It brings him close to another, to which he reaches out once more. This time he gets rage and despair, so strong it swallows him up.

The stars disappear. All he is rages over a life cut too short, too soon. He wants to fight back, wants to make everyone suffer like he suffered –

 _No_ , he thinks, _I don’t want that_ , and forces himself to separate. It tears something inside but he’s free, he's bleeding out and tumbling backwards through the sea of stars.

Until he's not.

There is a world now that he sees; there is a floor beneath his feet. How long has he been drifting, if standing feels so unfamiliar?

He gets distracted by the tracks on the ground. A train? He starts walking, deciding to follow the train tracks. The further down the corridor he goes the more curious he grows, as the walls are covered in some kind of black vines. They don’t feel any different to the walls when he touches them, but they do give a faint impression of satisfaction, and it disturbs him enough to decide not to touch them again.

The more he walks, the more he wakes, memories coming back to him slowly.

A girl bathed in light; a boy with silver hair smirking; a duck that crackled with energy and a dog that soothed all fears. He wishes he could remember their names.

… He wishes he could remember his own name.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

He jumps and spins around. The screams echo around the corridor, sounding relatively close, and he takes off running. Turning the next corner brings him some answers - it’s a dead end, but there’s a huge monster with its back to him. Red energy cloaks it; chains bind and drag on the floor around it; its coat is ripped and stained with blood. He’s frozen in terror at the sight, until he hears someone shout,

“What do we do Mona?!”

“I-I don’t know!” There are people behind it – chased by this monster, trapped in this corner and unable to escape.

“Hey!” he shouts, and thinks it must have been a long time since he spoke if he sounds so hoarse. The shout works, though, as the monster turns to him. The front is even worse than the back, revealing a gun in each skeleton hand and a face hidden by a hood, but he stands his ground. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

The monster takes a shot at him. It narrowly misses as he ducks in time, but the power behind it sends goosebumps up his arms - if he’s hit, it’s game over. Better make sure it doesn’t, then.

He takes a few steps back and the monster follows, so he lures it back out into the corridor and hopes the trapped people take the hint. He doesn’t have the breath to tell them what to do, all his energy going towards dodging each attack. This enemy is just as strong as others he’s faced in the past – a one-winged angel, a suit of armour and an elderly man with a key. The last two images linger.

_A key…_

“Hey!” the shout distracts him from the image. He sees a black van with its side door open, three people inside wearing strange clothes and masks. One of them is holding the door open and beckoning to him. “Get in!” They’re on the other side of the monster, though, which means he has to find a way around.

The monster realises its prey is escaping and readies another shot. There's no time to think, so he gets a running start and uses the wall as leverage to propel himself up and over the monster's head. As he falls he turns to face it head on, meeting the gunshot mid-air with his hand.

No, with a _key_.

The gunshot ricochets off the silver edge. He lands on the ground and immediately rolls backwards, just barely able to bring his keyblade up again to block the next physical attack. The monster is enraged, its breath cold and decaying, but he doesn't flinch. There are people he needs to protect. One last time the monster swings its arm down, its mighty power behind, and he meets it again -

\- but this time, the keyblade shatters.

The shockwave sends both himself and the monster flying backwards. He crashes into the side of the van and the air is knocked out of him.

"Gotcha!" Strong arms grab him and haul him inside.

"Go go go!" A girl screams.

"I'm going!"

They're already moving as the van door is pulled shut. It's not a comfortable ride, with bumps every few seconds and too fast turns that throw everyone in the back against each other, but eventually the pace slows and he's able to focus on the other people in the van.

The girl draws his attention first, her blonde pigtails and dark red suit standing out against the black interior. She notices him looking at her and smiles.

"Are you okay?"

This draws the attention of the other two.

"Yeah man, you don't look so hot." There's another blond, this one male and hidden behind a skull mask.

"Would you be after fighting that thing?" the girl huffs. "I think we have some bandages somewhere..." The last person in the van doesn't say a word, but the weight of his gaze is almost uncomfortable. "Here!" the girl scoots over and gestures at his hands. "This will help. What's your name, by the way?" 

Where he'd struggled to think it before, it now comes easy.

"Sora," he says and allows her to bandage his hands. It doesn't stop the pain, but at least he's no longer dripping blood all over the seat.

"Hi Sora. I'm Ann," she smiles. "And that's -"

"Code names!" A voice shouts out of nowhere, making Sora jump.

"Oh, right! I-I mean, that's Skull," she points to the one with the skull mask, "and that's Joker."

Joker leans forward. "Thank you, Sora," he says, and though his face is hidden by a black mask, the gratitude is plain to hear. "Without you, we would probably be dead."

"No kidding," Skull huffs. "Thanks man."

"Yeah, thanks!" Ann agrees.

"Thank you, Sora," the disembodied voice also speaks, and his uncertainty must have shown on his face because the others all laughed.

"That's Mona," Ann introduces. "He's our driver."

"And a cat," Skull adds.

"I am _not_ a cat!" 

Ann sighs as Skull and Mona start to argue, while Joker's face remains expressionless. Sora would have said something, but he's hit by a sudden exhaustion that makes his eyes droop and shoulders slump. He's vaguely aware of the bottom of the van rushing towards him, the shouts of his new companions sound far away, and then he falls unconscious.


	2. Meeting the Phantom Thieves

When he opens his eyes next, he’s looking up at a grimy ceiling.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

He sits up and turns to the speaker. She’s a doctor, judging by her coat, and she leans forward with a clipboard in hand and legs crossed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” he says.

“Any aches or pains anywhere?” He thinks about it. There’s a dull pain all over, but it’s easy to ignore so he shakes his head. “Any dizziness? Short breath?” He shakes his head again and she writes something on the clipboard. “What’s the last thing you remember?” This question brings him up short, and she takes his silence as answer enough. “Do you know what day it is?” Again, he remains silent. “What’s your name?”

Finally, something he can answer. “Sora.”

“Hmm,” she makes another note.

She asks him more questions then, but he struggles to answer any of them, and after a few minutes her frown deepens.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asks.

“No,” she says, but her lips are pursed so he’s not sure he believes her. “Can you stand?”

He hops off the bed. Standing still feels strange, but there’s also something reassuring about the weight. He’s tied to the ground, so he can’t drift away. She makes him do a few more actions before eventually sighing.

“Well, I can’t see anything physically wrong with you,” she admits. “But I’d like to do something.” She makes him memorize a list of words and repeat it back, count backwards and draw her clock. He must do well enough, because she eventually says, “You don’t appear to have problems mentally either, except for the memory loss, though to be safe I’d recommend going to an actual hospital.”

“Memory loss?” he repeats.

“Without knowing what happened I can only guess, but it’s likely your memories will come back over time, so you shouldn’t worry too much,” she explains, which doesn’t really explain anything. “Just take it slow. I’d like it if you could come back in a couple of days though, so I can keep an eye on you. I’ll text your friends you’re on your way,” she stands and gestures for him to follow.

They walk out into a waiting room. It’s empty and small, with only a few chairs, and takes only seconds to cross and step outside.

“Turn right, onto the main street,” she points at the corner within eyesight. “Walk about half a minute, then take the first left. The café is called LeBlanc. It’s red and makes the street stink of coffee, so you can’t miss it.”

“Thanks,” he says.

“I didn’t really do anything,” she sighs and goes back inside, leaving him alone. For a moment he’s not sure what to do, then decides to follow her instructions. His friends would be waiting, she’d said, and he wonders who these friends are. Not knowing makes his heart ache, and he thinks the friends he’s forgetting must be important if it makes him hurt so badly.

The streets are unfamiliar, but there’s hustle and bustle and _life_ here, vibrant and shining so strongly it makes him stop and just soak it all in.

“Sora?” He turns. The teenager in front of him is sort of familiar.

"Who are you?" he asks. 

“Maybe he doesn’t recognise you without the mask Joker.” A cat pokes its head out of the shoulder bag. “Do you remember me Sora? I’m Mona.”

 _Joker, Mona…_ The remnants of the last thing he remembers becomes clear.

“I thought you weren’t a cat,” he says to Mona.

“I’m NOT!” Mona’s back arches. “I just look like one out here, okay?”

“Okay,” he agrees, because he knows well that appearances on the outside can differ greatly to the inside, though how he learnt that that remains out of his grasp. Mona calms.

“You’re not freaking out,” Joker observes.

“Huh?”

“About the talking cat,” he clarifies.

“Hey, you’re right!” Mona realises, and now both of them are staring at him. “Why aren’t you freaking out?”

“Why would I?” he wonders, and there’s a silence as they both seemingly don’t know how to take that.

“I guess he did come out of Mementos,” Mona says and then looks up at Joker. “We should head back before the boss gets even more suspicious.” Joker nods and gestures for Sora to follow.

The doctor was right; the café is close and the alley smells of coffee, but she didn’t say how welcoming it was. Sora enjoys the little jingle as they go through the front door, enough to reach up and touch it himself to make it jingle again.

“Sora?”

He realises he probably shouldn’t have done that when he finds everyone staring at him. The other two are there, Skull and Ann, but there’s also a much older man behind the counter who looks bored. Mona has jumped up onto one of the seats. After a moment, Skull breaks the silence.

“Have a seat dude,” he pats the seat next to him.

“What did the doctor say?” Ann asks as Sora sits.

“Memory loss,” Joker answers, settling beside Ann. “Only knows his name.”

“That’s terrible!” she gasps.

“Shit…” Skull sighs.

Sora’s attention is caught when Joker puts something hard and rectangular on the table with a clatter. It looks familiar, so he picks it up.

“What’s this?” he asks and the others exchange a glance.

“It’s a phone,” Ann replies. “We’ve all got one, see?” she pulls hers out of her pocket and puts it on the table. It’s newer and less scratched than Joker’s but the design is the same.

“A phone…” Sora repeats. He puts Joker’s down and then reaches into his own pocket. He’s not sure what he’s looking for until he feels it, thick and blocky, and pulls it out and puts it on the table. “I have one too.”

There’s a long pause as the others stare at it. It couldn’t be more different to theirs – thick and brightly colourful, a small screen compared to their long ones, a keypad on his that they don’t.

“I’ve never seen this kind of phone before,” a new voice says. Sora blinks at the man who had previously been behind the counter, now stood next to their table. “It looks like a toy.”

“It _is_ a toy,” Skull snorts, then seemingly reconsiders. “Isn’t it?”

“Remember where we found him,” Mona says, and it’s enough to silence them all again.

“May I?” the older man asks and waits for Sora’s nod before he picks it up. “Hmm…” he turns it over in his hands. “It’s heavy too. What material is this?”

“Hey, maybe there’s some pictures on it.” Ann says, then gasps. “Maybe your parents have tried to call you!”

They all brighten up at the idea, and then the older man looks to Sora. “Do you remember how to use it?” Sora shakes his head - he hadn’t known he had it until just now, after all. “Give it a try. Maybe muscle memory will help.” He takes his phone back and stares at it. The dark screen doesn’t reveal anything, even when he presses a few buttons, and eventually he shakes his head again and puts it back on the table.

“I-it’s okay,” Ann reassures. “It’ll come back to you. We won’t give up!”

“And until then, we’ll look out for you,” Skull slaps his shoulder. “You helped us out, so now it’s our turn to help you.”

“Right!” Mona agreed.

“These guys have made a good case for you," the older man says. "You can stay upstairs. It's not much, and you'll have to room with this guy," he gestures to Joker, "but it's something."

Sora glances between them all, then finally at Joker, who nods back reassuringly.

“Thank you,” he says, and there’s a warmth in his chest that he can’t ignore, a warmth built up from their kindness and generosity, that makes his eyes water and he has to wipe it away with his sleeve. The others kindly pretend not to notice and instead usher him upstairs, pointing out where he'll sleep and some clothes of Joker's that he can borrow.

He may not have his memories, but he thinks he won't mind making some new ones with these people.


	3. Joining the Phantom Thieves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read, left kudos or commented so far.

The next morning, Joker and Mona have to go to school.

“We’ll be back this afternoon, okay?” Mona winds around Sora’s legs. Sora bends down to pet him, a little nervous about being left alone with the café owner, and maybe Mona senses it because he adds, “The Chief can be scary, but he’s a good guy. Just don’t cause him any trouble and he’ll take care of you.”

“You better get going before you’re late,” the owner says to Joker, who’s waiting at the door. Joker nods to him and Sora and opens his bag for Mona to hop in.

“See you later!” Mona calls, and Sora waves.

In their absence, there’s an awkward silence until the café owner breaks it with a sigh.

“Sit down, then,” he waves a hand and Sora obeys, settling on the stool closest to the stairs. “You can call me Chief; the other kids do. Rule number one: don't scare off the customers, got it? This is a business." Sora nods to show he understands, then Chief continues, rubbing his chin, “Now, what to do with you. I couldn’t find anyone matching your description in the missing persons database last night, but it was a long shot anyway. You don’t look like you’re from around here.”

“I don’t?” Sora blinks.

Chief chuckles. “Kid, you look like you just stepped off a beach ad.” Sora looks down at his arms. Now that it’s pointed out, his skin is more tanned than anyone else's he's seen so far. “And I’ve never seen anyone with such naturally spiky hair. Which makes me even more curious how you ended up here."

“I…”

“I know, you don’t remember, the Doc confirmed that,” Chief shakes himself and then pulls out a plate of food. “Here. You must be hungry. When was the last time you ate?” Sora tries to remember but there’s nothing but darkness in his head, and eventually Chief sighs. “Yeah, you need to eat.”

“This is good,” Sora says after a few bites.

“I suppose anything’s good when you’ve got nothing to compare it to."

Something tickles at Sora’s mind, then. He thinks he _has_ tried good food, amazing food even, and that this meal is up there with some of the best, but putting these impressions into words is too difficult, so he just eats in silence.

When he finishes, Chief gestures for him to take his plate to the sink and, when Sora settles again on the stool, says, “Normally I’d say you could do whatever you want until your friends come back, but I’m not sure what you would do, so I figured you could help me out with the café today. How’s that sound?”

“Okay,” he agrees.

And so his day begins by washing the cups and dishes from their breakfasts.

Customers start to trickle in not long after he starts, usually in ones or twos, and some linger only for a few minutes while others hang around for much longer. Sora draws a lot of attention from them, for it turns out all of them are regulars, but they don’t make much of a fuss once Chief explains his situation.

When it reaches lunch time, Chief beckons him over to the kitchen. “How you holding up?” he asks in a low tone.

“Fine,” Sora says.

“You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”

Sora thinks about it. “They’re all nice people,” he says. “And I like doing something. I think…” he stares down at his hands with a frown. “I think I don’t like being still.”

“That’s progress,” Chief pats his shoulder. “Why don’t I show you how to cook some simple dishes? We have some time.” There’s no one in the café so Sora agrees.

It turns out he doesn’t need the help.

“Huh,” Chief’s eyes are wider than normal as he stares at the end result. He’d stopped giving Sora instructions half-way through, instead allowing Sora to take over on what was best done, and though Sora himself wasn’t sure where the instincts came from, he was quite pleased. “Maybe you were a chef, before.”

That doesn’t feel quite right, but it’s not like Sora knows any better.

Another customer comes in then, so Chief goes to serve them and leaves Sora to clean up the kitchen. The Caprese Salad he’s made is put aside, as an option for customers if they’d like, and the rest of the day passes like that until it gets to late afternoon.

“Your friends should be back soon,” Chief says. “Why don’t you wait upstairs? I’ll send them up when they arrive.”

True to his word, not much time passes before he hears his friends arriving – through the window, first, and then downstairs when they come inside.

“Sora!” Ann beams when she sees him.

“Hi Ann,” he smiles.

“’Sup dude,” Skull dumps his bag on the floor and throws himself onto the sofa.

“Ryuji! Show a little respect!” Ann huffs.

“Ryuji?” Sora repeats and the group looks at him, then at each other in confusion.

“Oh, right,” Mona jumps up onto the bed next to Sora. “I guess you’ve only heard our code names, huh? Why don’t I introduce you properly, then,” Mona twists. “I’m Mona, though in this world I’m Morgana. You know Ann already, but in the Metaverse she’s called Panther. And Skull’s real name is Ryuji, though I think Skull suits him better ‘cause that’s all he really is-”

“Hey -!”

“And finally, we have Joker,” Mona talks loudly over Skull’s protests. “He’s our leader. And together, we're the Phantom Thieves of Heart!”

Now everyone’s looking at Joker, who doesn’t seem too perturbed by their stares. Sora thinks back to the person from the van, holding the door open and calling out to him, and struggles to make it match the person standing in front of them. One was so bold, this one so… quiet.

“We’ll have to come up with a codename for you too Sora,” Mona looks back at Sora.

“For me?” Sora blinks.

“Your skills would be really useful,” Mona says. “You managed to hold off the Reaper. I didn’t know anybody could do that! You must be really strong.”

“You’re definitely stronger than any of us,” Ryuji agrees. “We would’ve been toast without you.”

The Reaper… must have been that monster from before. It’s a pretty accurate name. 

“But didn’t your weapon break?” Ann frowns.

“Oh oh oh, what was that weapon anyway?” Mona asks. “I thought only someone with a Persona could fight in the Metaverse.”

“And how did it just appear like that? It was like you summoned it into your hand when you needed it most,” Ryuji leant forward. “Could you teach us?”

“And those moves!” Ann sighs. “The way you dodged those attacks were incredible!”

“Why were you -”

“ _Enough_.” Ryuji, Ann and Mona fall silent while Joker shakes his head at them. “Back off a bit. You’re overwhelming him.” The three mutter apologies, and then there’s an uncomfortable silence that none of them really want to break.

Sora figures it’s finally his time to ask the questions. “Why were you there?”

“We weren’t _meant_ to meet the Reaper at all,” Mona bows low, almost sinking into the covers. “I thought he only hung around in the deeper areas.”

“Proving once again, you’re useless,” Ryuji scoffs.

“How was I supposed to know?!”

“Well you’re meant to know a hell of a lot more than us!”

“What happened happened,” Joker interrupts, silencing Ryuji and Mona with a look. “The important thing is where to go from here,” he turns to look at Sora. “There’s an art teacher who's been taking advantage of his students by claiming their work as his. If they try to argue, he ruins their lives."

"Making tons of money off it," Ryuji mutters.

“That’s why we need your help,” Mona jumps in. “We’re going to steal his heart and make him pay for all the lives he’s ruined."

 _Steal his heart_.

Something deep inside stirs.

“You’re stealing people’s hearts?” Sora repeats. “Like the heartless?”

The group glances at each other.

“The… heartless?” Ann parrots.

When pressed, the word drifts away from him and he presses a hand to his head at the ensuing headache. He _knows_ this is important, but it dances out of reach, taunting him.

“Hey, you okay?” Ryuji asks.

He gives up on remembering, for now, and looks back at them. "I don't really get it... but basically you want my help, right?" He waits for their nods. "Okay, sure. You're helping me tons, so..."

"Thank you," Joker nods.

"And don't worry, you’ll get it soon enough,” Mona sounds so confident that Sora has to believe him. “After all, if _Ryuji_ can…”

“Say that again you damn cat!”

“What did you call me?!”

“Will you guys give it a rest already?!" Ann shouts.

Sora looks again at Joker, who smirks as he says,

"Welcome to the team."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited: The first time I posted this, I got my timelines muddled up. Fortunately a commenter pointed it out, and now it's fixed. 
> 
> If you liked the story, please leave some kudos and/or a comment. I'd love to know what you think so far.


	4. Madarame Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My timeline was wrong in the last chapter - I have now edited it to show they are not fighting Kamoshida, but Madarame. Sorry for any confusion this causes. Thank you to everyone who has read, left kudos, subscribed and commented so far. I really appreciate it!

They spend the rest of the day explaining to him about Palaces - distorted cognitions of twisted individuals who have let power go to their heads. They explain Mementos, too - the collective unconsciousness of humanity; where Sora had saved them - and are disappointed but not surprised when he can't explain how or why he was there.

"It's okay Sora," Morgana reassures him later that evening, when it's just him, Joker and Sora. "I don't remember where I'm from, either."

"You don't?"

"I don't even know what my true form is... but I'm certain I used to be a human. No normal cat could talk like this!" Morgana's ears flatten. "But... that's why I want to explore Mementos. I'm sure I'll find something... and you came out of Mementos too, so maybe it's the same for you!" 

Sora pets his back and nods. "Okay. Then let's get our memories back together."

But none of their explanations really prepare him for the moment he sees the dazzling art gallery with his own eyes, a building that hadn't existed until Joker opened an app on his phone.

“This way,” Skull says and leads them through a side entrance. Sora tries not to get too distracted, but he's never seen anything so glamorous as this – and then they're inside, and he sees the portraits of people in agony. Joker and Skull don’t even look at them, so Sora ignores them too.

They come to a stop in a courtyard, their progress blocked by electric fences a little taller than their heads. On the other side of the fences is a large blue door, covered in yellow circles.

"Is that it?" Sora asks. Mona had explained the previous night there was a door in the real world that looked just like it and if they could open it there, it would open here. 

"Yup," Skull says. "You think they're gonna pull it off?"

The way he says it rubs Sora the wrong way. "You think they won't?"

“There’s still a _lot_ we don’t know,” Skull scowls. “Plus, Ann was saying stuff like, ‘I’ll just seduce him with my acting’, but that’s _way_ out of her league. On top of that, even if Mona’s able to unlock the door, how’s he gonna show it to Madarame? And then even _if_ they do all that, wouldn’t any normal person just close it right up again?” he turns to Sora and Joker. “Won’t it take a miracle for this to work?”

“It’ll definitely work,” Joker says confidently.

“I wanna think that too, but…”

Before Sora can think twice, he asks, “Aren’t they your friends?”

“What?” Skull says.

“You should have more faith in them,” Sora says. “They’re your friends, aren’t they?”

“That’s…” the other teenager doesn’t meet his eyes. “You just don’t know ‘em like we do. Plus, _Mona_ ain’t a friend.”

Sora intends to continue arguing, but Joker catches his eye and shakes his head, so he decides to let it go, and just looks up at the sky instead. “I may not know them like you do, but I know they’ll succeed,” he says to the stars. “They’re following their hearts, after all.”

“Uh… what?” Skull eyes him. “No, dude, they’re following the _plan_ , and shouldn’t they be done by now?” he turns back to the electric fences. “I wonder what’s -”

The ground suddenly shakes hard enough to almost knock them off their feet, and then the large doors slide open. At the same time, the electric fences switch off. 

Sora cheers. "They did it!" 

"They seriously did it," Skull grins. "Now let's go disable those controls so we don't get stuck like this again!"

To reach the control room, they have to fight a Shadow. They'd avoided them so far, so Sora is surprised when the guard transforms into a monster with a white mane, striped yellow body and scaly green tail. The most disconcerting part, though, is the twin red eyes glowing in the pitch black face. It feels wrong, somehow, and throws him off enough that when he dodges and rolls, he winds up being more of a hindrance than a help in the battle. Even worse, no matter how much he tries, the keyblade never appears in his hand and eventually, Skull snaps,

"Just back off! We got this!"

So Sora hangs back, and Joker and Skull beat it without him.

"What was that?" Skull asks as soon as it's over.

"I don't know," Sora looks at his empty hand, betrayed. The keyblade had always come before, hadn't it? Then again, it had shattered...

"We'll work it out later," Joker says. "Control room first."

The rest of the plan goes off without a hitch and they're able to disable the security protocols and run back outside before they're spotted again, but then something unexpected happens.

"Do people always fall from the sky in palaces?" Sora wonders.

"First time I've heard of it," Mona says, picking himself up from where he'd fallen.

"Who are all you people?!" Yusuke nervously glances between them all, then his gaze settles on Sora. "You... do not cover your face?" Sora shrugs. He's barely understanding what's happening, so the fact he hasn't got a mask and outfit like the others is just one more question mark to deal with another time. It doesn't take Yusuke long to recognise everyone else once they're pointed out to him, but in the next beat he succumbs to exhaustion, struggling to stand upright.

"We need to go!" Mona urges.

Joker supports Yusuke as they go back through the museum the way they came, managing to avoid catching the attention of the Shadows on their way, but they stall when they reach the portrait galleries. 

“This painting…!” Yusuke gasps and pulls out of Joker’s grip to stand in front of a large portrait.

“Do you recognise it?” Ann asks. “We were thinking it might be his past pupils or something.”

“But… why are there paintings of them here?”

“Technically, those aren’t paintings. They’re the pupils themselves.” Mona explains.

Sora’s gaze snaps to him. “Wait, those are actual people? Trapped here?”

Mona shakes his head. “Cognitions of his pupils, really. This is just what they look like to Madarame.”

“… A portrait?” Sora looks back at the portrait which had caught Yusuke’s attention.

“Madarame saw them as objects, so that’s what they are here,” Skull pauses and looks uncomfortable as he glances at Yusuke. “And, uh… we found yours too.”

There’s not much more to say to that, and after a moment Mona ushers them along again. Now that he knows the portraits are not pictures but actual people, warped into this shape because of Madarame’s twisted ideas, it’s much harder for Sora to walk past them without doing _something_ to help. Joker sees him looking and falls back to walk with him, murmuring,

“There’s nothing you can do for them right now.”

Sora bites his lip. “If we steal Madarame’s heart, will it help them?”

“Mona thinks so.”

“But you’re not sure.”

Joker hesitates, then explains, “In the last palace, there were students being physically abused by Kamoshida. We weren’t able to do anything for them,” Joker’s gaze falls on Skull’s back briefly before looking back at Sora. “When the palace disappeared, those students did too.”

“It didn’t affect them in the real world?” Sora asks.

“No, the only one affected was Kamoshida.”

He tries to wrap his head around it.

“There’s the entrance!” Mona exclaims, but before they can take another step their way is barred.

Madarame, it turns out, is a frail-looking, elderly man in a garish golden robe wearing strange make-up, but his cold words towards Yusuke prove physical strength isn't the only way to hurt someone. 

"You thought I took you in out of the goodness of my heart?" Madarame chuckles, and Sora would swear he hears Yusuke's heart break. "Plucking talented, yet troubled artists allows me to find promising pupils and take their ideas... After all, it's much easier to steal the futures of children who can't fight back."

"That's enough!" Sora stands in front of Yusuke and faces Madarame. "How can you be so cruel?"

"Is it cruel when livestock are killed for their hide and meat?"

There are no words to answer that, none except -

"You... are unforgivable," Yusuke staggers to his feet and glares at his mentor.

A few moments later, Sora learns what it means to awaken a Persona. 

After the Shadows are beaten and Madarame has retreated, they take a breather in the gallery entrance. Yusuke keeps his head low, unable to meet any of their gazes, and there's a silent communication between Joker, Skull and Panther over who should say something. It eventually falls on Panther, who breaks the silence with a gentle, 

"You've known for quite some time, haven't you?"

The more Sora hears of Yusuke's story, the more he wants to cry. How could someone meant to be a father treat their child like that?

"This world is too cruel," he whispers and hugs himself. No one hears, too focused on Yusuke, but he isn't really saying it to them anyway. He's suddenly the loneliest he's been since arriving, for none of the others share his shock at Madarame's action - just tired acceptance another adult had let them down. He longs for the comfort of... something. If he shuts his eyes he can almost hear them.

_You can't come along looking like that. Understand? No frowning, no sad faces. Okay?_

_Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!_

"I'll try," he says and opens his eyes just in time to see Shadows spawn behind the others. "Watch out!" he darts forward as he speaks, before they can even look, and its instinct forged by lost memories to raise his hand in the air and shout, "Stop!"

All the Shadows freeze.

"Holy shit that's useful," Skull breathes.

"We'll talk after," Mona says. "We need to scram!"

Much later, they're all bunched up in a booth in a café back in the real world. Ryuji and Yusuke sit on one side, while Sora, Ann and Joker are squished on the other, with Mona hiding in a bag on the table. Even though it was only a day earlier the others had told him about their high school teacher, Sora appreciates them repeating it for Yusuke.

It's easier to comprehend the second time, but still just as awful.

"The Phantom Thieves who steal hearts... To think they truly exist..." Yusuke thinks for a minute, then meets Joker's eyes. "Let me join... as a member of the Phantom Thieves. Had I faced reality sooner, this may have been avoided. I must put an end to this for the sake of the others whose futures as artists were robbed, as well." He looks down at his hands. "That... is the most civil thing I can do for the man who was... in some manner, my father."

"Fine with me. We're gonna deal with Madarame anyway," Ryuji shrugs.

Morgana pokes his head out of the bag to warn, "He may have a mental shutdown if we screw up. We have ways to prevent that, but they aren't fail-safe. Remember how we mentioned it on our way here?"

"Madarame is a man who has the art world under his thumb. He has connections to many organisations. If someone like me raises my voice, it'll only be snubbed out... We have no option but this." For all his strong words, the pain is clear in Yusuke's tone.

"It's a deal then!" Morgana tries to shift the mood to a more cheerful one.

Ann joins in, "That's two new members of the Phantom Thieves in two days!" she laughs, then jokes, "Do you think we'll get a third one tomorrow?" 

"Two...? You are new as well?" Yusuke looks at Sora. "For what purpose did you join?"

"They asked for my help," Sora says.

"... That's all?"

"They're helping me too," he adds. "I lost all my memories, so I don't really have anywhere to go. Or do."

"I see... My apologies for your lost memories then. I hope you recover them soon," Yusuke bows.

"Mona needs your hope too!" Sora points out and Yusuke's eyes widen.

"Morgana, you have also forgotten your memories?"

Morgana sinks back into the bag a little, but explains, "Sora and I both came from Mementos, so I think we don't remember because of the cognitive distortions there. But this guy," Mona beams at Joker, "said he'd help us find them." 

"Then, I would lend my strength to this as well," Yusuke says. "As a thank you for helping to open my eyes."

"Yay!" Ann cheers. "I hope we get along well Yusuke!"

"As do I."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't intend this to be a novella of Persona 5 - I will skip things to focus more on how Sora might fit in with them, as seen in this chapter. Let me know what you think or if you spot any mistakes!


End file.
